Non formal sexual rights education and sexual pleasure: experiences from a grassroots training program in Turkey

In the framework of the Coalition for Sexual and Bodily Rights in Muslim Societies (CSBR) experience to promote sexual, bodily and reproductive health and rights, this paper will explore women's approach to sexuality, sexual health, sexual rights, and sexual pleasure based on the experience of the Human Rights Education Program for Women (HREP) in Turkey, implemented in 42 cities. The paper will contexualize sexual health and rights in Muslim societies through a human rights approach, drawn on experiences of grassroots movement for women in Turkey, in a context where efforts to promote SRHR contend with patriarchal norms and taboos around sexuality.

HREP addresses sexual and reproductive rights within the framework of the indivisibility of human rights. While three modules towards the end of the program cover specifically sexuality and reproductive rights, sexual violence is addressed within the scope of the three workshops on violence against women and strategies against violence. Devoting such a large portion of the program to issues of sexuality; emphasizing sexual rights and the right to bodily integrity as an essential human right; addressing sexual violence, sexual health and rights and reproductive rights in separate modules are all strategic choices to underline the centrality of sexuality in women’s lives. The presentation will introduce conceptual, analytical and behavioural transformation in women’s approach to sexuality and sexual health and rights following the program and draw strategies and recommendations in terms of promoting SRHR at the local level within the international framework of human rights.